Dodger fans watch the procession for the Funeral Mass for Dodger Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Fernando Valenzuela, Jr., left, helps bring the casket with the body of his father Fernando Valenzuela from Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles for internment after a funeral Mass on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Actor Edward James Olmos, center, takes photo with the mariachi group Sol de Mexico after the funeral mass for Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. Sol de Mexico performed during the mass. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Archbishop Jose Gomez, center, led the funeral mass for Fernando Valenzuela at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Fernando Valenzuela, Jr., talks to the media after the funeral mass for his father, Fernando Valenzuela, at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Fernando Valenzuela, Jr., gets hugs after the funeral mass for his father, Fernando Valenzuela, at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) The casket with the body Fernando Valenzuela is taken from Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles for internment after a funeral Mass on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Dodger fan Frankie Aguirre from Orange County gets a photo with the hearse for the funeral of Fernando Valenzuela at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Show Caption1 of 8Dodger fans watch the procession for the Funeral Mass for Dodger Pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Expand Though he didn’t know him personally, like many of the fans who attended Wednesday morning’s funeral Mass for Fernando Valenzuela, Luis Dircio of Los Angeles felt impacted by the Dodger great. “He’s part of L.A. I’m Mexican and he’s Mexican. He gave us hope, that even a Mexican could be something really important,” he said. “He was our hero in L.A. and he just did a lot for our people,” he said, likening Valenzuela to another Dodgers great, Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Related: Mural honoring late Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela unveiled in Boyle Heights Close to 300 people were in attendance at Downtown Los Angeles’ iconic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for a solemn service led by Archbishop Jose´ Gomez. “Fernando was an example to all of us,” he said. “We keep his example in our hearts and in our minds.” Valenzuela died on Oct. 22 at age 63.  A cause of death for Valenzuela has not been disclosed. He was a Spanish-language broadcaster for the team, but he stepped away from the mic in late September for undisclosed health reasons. The team announced in early October that he would sit out the rest of the season. Born in Navojoa, Mexico, the youngest of 11 children, Valenzuela began with the Dodgers at age 19, the only pitcher to ever win both the Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards in the same season, in 1981. FILE – In this Aug. 8, 1981, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitches in the All-Star game in Cleveland. The Dodgers needed a strike interrupted season and a pitching sensation named Fernando Valenzuela to win a championship in 1981. More important for the Dodgers, perhaps, is that they found a way that year to connect with Hispanic fans who nearly four decades later are still loyal supporters of the team. Author Jason Turbow tells PodcastOne Sports Now that the season was significant in many ways for the Dodgers, something he details in his new book “They Bled Blue,” a recap of a season like no other.(AP Photo/File) With a large poster of himself in his prime as a Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher, Fernando Valenzuela answers reporters’ questions at a news conference announcing his return to the Dodger organization as a Spanish-language color commentator, at Dodger Stadium on Thursday, June 5, 2003. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) A wreath of flowers and Dodger’s Fernando Valenzuela’s number are outside Dodger Stadium.. prior to game 1 of a World Series baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. ..Valenzuela passed away earlier this week. (Photo by Todd Harmonson, Orange County Register/ SCNG) Former Los Angeles Dodger Fernando Valenzuela waves to fans before throwing the first ceremonial pitch before the All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, July 19, 2022. (File photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG) Fernando Valenzuela fans continue to visit a makeshift memorial outside Dodger Stadium before game 1 of the World Series in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela receives flowers from three East Los Angeles fans during a baseball clinic in Los Angeles on May 16, 1981. (AP Photo/RR) FILE – Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela blows bubbles as he passes the time in the dugout during the rain delay before Game 3 of the National League playoffs with the Expos at Montreal, Oct. 18, 1981. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.(AP Photo/Rusty Kennedy, File) Show Caption1 of 7FILE – In this Aug. 8, 1981, file photo, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela pitches in the All-Star game in Cleveland. The Dodgers needed a strike interrupted season and a pitching sensation named Fernando Valenzuela to win a championship in 1981. More important for the Dodgers, perhaps, is that they found a way that year to connect with Hispanic fans who nearly four decades later are still loyal supporters of the team. Author Jason Turbow tells PodcastOne Sports Now that the season was significant in many ways for the Dodgers, something he details in his new book “They Bled Blue,” a recap of a season like no other.(AP Photo/File) Expand After 17 seasons in the majors, he became a broadcaster for the Dodgers in 2003, working for more than 20 years until shortly before his death. Mike Scioscia, Valenzuela’ Dodger teammate and catcher throughout the 1980s, eulogized his friend at the service. “I can’t tell you how blessed we were to experience him as a 20-year old,” he said. “He had the heart of a lion.” Scioscia spoke of Valenzuela’s strength and leadership abilities. Related: At Max’s in Monrovia, a Dodgers World Series mixed with memories of Fernando Valenzuela “He had a quiet confidence about him,” he said. “He always felt he was the best in the world, but he’d never tell anyone about it. He would walk out on that mound with all this internal confidence.” Fernando Valenzuela Jr. delivers an emotional, heartfelt eulogy for his father Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Fernando Valenzuela Jr. delivers an emotional eulogy for his father, Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) The funeral of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela is held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Los Aneles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Linda Valenzuela, right, along with daughters Linda and Maria, attends the the funeral for her husband, Los Angeles Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Fernando Valenzuela’s sons, Fernando Valenzuela Jr., left, and Ricardo Valenzuela, right, guide Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s casket into the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for a public funeral mass in Los Angeles Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024.(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Fernando Valenzuela’s sons, Fernando Valenzuela Jr., left, and Ricardo Valenzuela, far right, help guide Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s casket into the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for a public funeral mass in Los Angeles Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024.(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Pallbearer’s guide Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s casket into the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels for a public funeral mass in Los Angeles Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024.(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) The funeral of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela is held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) The funeral of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela is held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Show Caption1 of 9Fernando Valenzuela Jr. delivers an emotional, heartfelt eulogy for his father Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Expand “In our clubhouse we could feel the confidence as he walked through,” he said. Scioscia noted: “He was a leader on a very veteran team,” despite his young age, highlighting that he was only 20 when he experienced the enormous fanfare that came to be known as Fernandomania. “He just kept perspective the whole way and just kept pitching, day in and day out,” he said. Scioscia also cited Valenzuela’s playfulness and sense of humor. In the locker room, he said, he often fiddled with a lasso he had, and when teammates would walk by he would toss the lasso and capture their foot at the ankle. “He would rope you like he’d a rope a calf,” he said. “I don’t think he ever missed.” When Valenzuela was called up to the Dodgers, Scioscia did his best to communicate with the rookie from Sonora, Mexico, speaking to him in Spanish. “Mike, your Spanish is terrible,” Valenzuela told him. “Fernando, that’s about the same as your English, so I guess we’re in the same boat,” he replied, chuckling. Wednesday’s Mass also included a tearful eulogy from his son, Fernando Valenzuela, Jr., who bears a strong resemblance to his father. He spoke in Spanish. Related: Photos: Dodgers’ Fernando Valenzuela as seen through the years “My dad was a man of little words,” he said. “If you knew him at the beginning, you would think he doesn’t talk at all … But if he was comfortable with you, he would speak with you. Once you got to know him, you couldn’t stop him.” Valenzuela, Jr., spoke of his father’s generosity. “If you asked Fernando for an autograph, he would give it to you,” he said. “Even if you didn’t ask him for anything, he’d give you his friendship. But he never asked for anything.” Linda Valenzuela, right, along with daughters Linda and Maria, attends the the funeral for her husband, Los Angeles Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Archbishop Jose H. Gomez blesses the casket of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) The funeral for Los Angeles Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024.(Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Archbishop José H. Gomez, third from left, arrives with family and guests prior to a public funeral Mass for former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Archbishop José H. Gomez offers a blessing at the casket for former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela after a public funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Archbishop José H. Gomez greets Linda Valenzuela after a public funeral Mass for her husband, former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Archbishop José H. Gomez hugs Linda Valenzuela after a public funeral Mass for her husband, former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Actor James Olmos, left, poses with a Los Angeles Dodgers fan after a public funeral mass for former Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) Archbishop Jose H. Gomez blesses the casket of Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Former Los Angeles Dodgers Jerry Reuse, left, reaches out to greet Mike Scioscia, right, as Rick Sutcliffe and Peter O’Malley look on during the funeral for Los Angeles Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Archbishop Jose H. Gomez consoles Fernando Valenzuela Jr. at the conclusion of his father Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s funeral at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Former Los Angeles Dodgers Mike Scioscia eulogizes his friend and former teammate Fernando Valenzuela during his funeral at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Show Caption1 of 12Linda Valenzuela, right, along with daughters Linda and Maria, attends the the funeral for her husband, Los Angeles Dodgers Fernando Valenzuela at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2025 in Los Angeles. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via AP, Pool) Expand “He would give you advice, sit with you, tell you stories,” he said. “He loved to joke. Sometimes people would ask him for an autograph and he’d say, ‘It’s not me.’ He was like a child all his life. And he loved to play baseball.” His memory was honored throughout the Dodgers’ World Series run this season, with a flowered cross placed next to his retired number 34 at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers’ championship parade and stadium celebration were held Friday on what would have been Valenzuela’s 64th birthday. A six-story mural of Valenzuela was unveiled Sunday in Boyle Heights. Valenzuela is survived by his wife Linda and four children, Fernando Jr., Ricardo, Linda and Maria Fernanda, and seven grandchildren. Fans and friends agreed, some sharing their own thoughts outside before the service. “I came to say goodbye to him, to a great friend,” said Ricardo Jaramillo of Los Angeles. “He was a great friend to the whole city of Los Angeles,” he said. “He gave us someone to look up to, someone to respect,” said Jaime Torres, standing outside the Cathedral. “When he made that mark for himself right off the gate, you knew he was something special,” added Torres, who had aspirations of being a pro ballplayer as a youth and followed Valenzuela’s career closely. “It’s exactly what the Dodgers needed to infuse enthusiasm in the Hispanic community.” Fernando Valenzuela, Jr., talks to the media after the funeral mass for his father, Fernando Valenzuela, at Our Lady of the Angeles Cathedral in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG) Raoul Chaeres of Long Beach knew Valenzuela personally and considered him his idol. “He was an example for all the Latinos and a support for the whole community,” he said through an interpreter. Rev. James Anguiano, homilist for the Mass, shared some thoughts on Valenzuela, whose number 34 was retired by the team. “Today I wanted to wear my number 34 jersey, but I didn’t think I could fit it under what I’m wearing,” he said. While he lauded Valenzuela’s baseball accomplishments, he pointed out, “there was so much more to him, so much more that we could all learn from him … We need to recognize who he was as a human being, the goodness that came from him.” “We thank him for serving as a role model in the Latino community, for inspiring and bringing hope to many people,” he said. “He did so not caring about himself, but caring about others.” Related Articles News | Mural honoring late Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela unveiled in Boyle Heights News | Photos: Our favorite images from Dodgers’ victory parade, stadium rally News | Dodgers — and their fans — have their day: An LA lovefest, decades in the making News | Dodgers Parade: Vendors see Dodgers merch fly off the shelves amid LA celebration News | Dodgers Parade: For fans, this LA celebration spans generations Valenzuela’s son spoke proudly of his father. “He was always humble with everyone, even his children and grandchildren, everyone he met,” said Valenzuela, Jr. “He was a great person,” he said. “He always had a smile and now we won’t have that smile. “But he will always be in our hearts.” Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-area-based freelance writer and photographer. Freelance reporter  Aaron Heisen and City News Service contributed to this report.